Vandals strike Russell Park; surveillance cameras to be installed

Surveillance cameras will be added at Russell Park as the result of a recent vandalism incident.

The Ilion village board voted at a meeting Wednesday to install five or six surveillance cameras, which will run constantly. Signs will be posted notifying park visitors of the presence of the cameras.

By Donna Thompson

The Times

By Donna Thompson

Posted Mar. 30, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Mar 30, 2013 at 10:16 PM

By Donna Thompson

Posted Mar. 30, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Mar 30, 2013 at 10:16 PM

Ilion, N.Y.

Surveillance cameras will be added at Russell Park as the result of a recent vandalism incident.

The Ilion village board voted at a meeting Wednesday to install five or six surveillance cameras, which will run constantly. Signs will be posted notifying park visitors of the presence of the cameras.

Vandals painted graffiti on the sides of the building and burned the center of one of the picnic tables at the lower pavilion, according to police Chief Tim Parisi. He said the graffiti will have to be painted over and repairs made before the park opens for the season.

Police received a report of the vandalism in the picnic area at the park Wednesday morning from a village official, Parisi said, and the investigation is ongoing. He asked anyone with information about the incident contact police.

Some of the messages painted on the buildings referred to the March 13 shootings in Mohawk and Herkimer, board members were told, indicating the vandalism occurred after that date. The park's lower road was closed to vehicular traffic for the winter starting Nov. 16 and remains closed.

Deputy Mayor Beth Neale, who conducted the meeting in the absence of Mayor John Stephens, found the vandalism at the park troubling. “And now we have to take the step of surveillance,” she said.

Ilion Marina

Department of Public Works Superintendent Jack Sterling reported work is under way to prepare the Dockside Restaurant at the Ilion Marina for the season. Greg Voss, of Whitesboro, will operate the restaurant this year.

Sterling also reported work on the vessel pump-out at the marina is scheduled to begin next week. The project was approved for a Clean Vessel Act Assistance Program grant of $16,375.47 through the Environmental Facility Corp. Installing a stationary pump-out station would allow boaters to pump waste into a station that would be tied into the village septic system. This is a 75 percent/25 percent grant. The village will receive reimbursement of $12,281 and will have to pay for the remainder of the project, Sterling explained at an earlier meeting. He said in-kind services could be used toward the village's share.

Sterling also suggested several streets that could use work with the help of funds from the Consolidated Highway Improvement Program. The streets he mentioned were Elm Street, from Grove Street to south of Hunt's Field, and Columbia Parkway. If enough funds are available, he said, Fourth Street to Prospect could be added to the list.